The chirping of birds filled the forest, but the sound of feet running pushed them away, ending a melody that had played since dawn. In another part of the forest, the sound of running water echoed. Near it, a herd of deer drank as a doe let out a soft bleat to call her fawn back to her side—yet they were interrupted and fled due to the same noise.
"Huff huff huff. Where is he? Where did he go?" Ren said, running through the forest, looking left and right. Then he stopped to adjust his new gauntlet, longer than the previous one, stretching up to the elbow where the leather strap was. The gauntlet was fully steel-made, with fingers ending in tall steel nails like claws. He tightened the strap and started walking, checking his surroundings. He heard a twig snap. His eyes shifted to the side, realizing the sound came from behind. He kept walking forward, then suddenly turned back as the sound of brushes being pushed came—nothing. Peter dropped from the tree behind with the dagger in his hand, attacking. Ren, still facing the brush, looked oblivious and fell for the trap, yet he was smiling. He turned exactly at the right moment, quickly catching the blade and catching Peter off guard. Peter let go of the dagger as he stepped backward in a blink of an eye. As the dagger tip started to disappear, Ren snapped the blade. Peter drew just the handle from the air. Ren, smiling, said, "I finally got you," as he in a single step shrank the distance. Peter fumbled, shocked by the bladeless dagger, threw the handle at Ren. Ren deflected it and threw his punch. Peter realized Ren's speed was matching his and he couldn't gain distance. "It's my victory," Ren said as he was about to land the punch. Peter snapped his finger. Ren's eyes widened, wondering. Bonk! A steel anvil dropped on his head, and he went unconscious.
The sky spun and sound blurred as Ren opened his eyes. He grabbed his head with the worst headache he'd ever had, looked at Lili strangling Peter and yelling at him. Ren got up, lifting his hand, just to hit the ground again and go back unconscious.
"Hey, Ren, wake up, buddy," said Peter, standing on top of Ren. Ren woke up, and it was already night as darkness covered the sky. He sat while holding his head with bandages. "What happened?"
"Nothing, buddy. You hit your head, that's all," Peter said.
Lili said, "You dropped a steel anvil on his head, and you call it nothing?"
Ren said, "It's alright, just stop yelling."
Shin interrupted them. "You did well for today's training. Your growth speed is fascinating. Try eating first, then rest—you need it." As he pulled Lili and Peter away from him, Bjorn approached, holding a bowl of stew with meat and vegetable chunks, and handed it to him. "How was the gauntlet?"
Ren grabbed it and started eating. "It was a little big. It kept slipping off my hands. The strap needs adjustment. Other than that, I liked the padding and how smooth it was, even if it wasn't leather-made. I could move my fingers freely."
Bjorn, scratching his beard, said, "Alright, I'll get back on it. You should get some sleep."
Ren nodded and lay back, closing his eyes.
As morning began, so did the party. As they exited the forest, they saw a village from afar. Peter asked Shin, "Are you sure we are on track?"
Shin replied, "Yes, it's an abandoned village, wiped almost 20 years ago when chimeras reached this far."
They moved toward the village, and the closer they got, the more questions they had. Lili said, "Hey, guys, doesn't the buildings look odd? They don't look abandoned."
Shin checked his map for a minute. "Nope, it's supposed to be abandoned. The guardian surely didn't make such a mistake."
They reached the village, and people were walking around, busy with their affairs. An old man approached them, welcoming them and offering them bread. Ren jumped suddenly out of the wagon. Shin halted along with Peter as they stared at Ren, thinking he might be hungry or something, but he passed him and kept walking ahead. Then he stopped. "Mom?" As a woman with long black hair with white strands approached from afar. "Ren?" As both ran toward each other, hugging. Ren, crying, said, "Mom, I thought you were dead? How?"
Ren's mom said, "It's alright, no need for tears. Why don't you introduce me to your friends?"
Ren wiped his tears. "Yeah, I forgot," and introduced them, with his mom offering them to stay for the night. Shin accepted as everyone moved ahead further inside the village.
The night fell with everyone gathered around a fireplace, laughing and sharing a meal. Peter telling stories like usual, as Ren sat there smiling, seeing his mom alive and well as she was laughing. She looked back at him. "Ren! You look tired. Why don't you head upstairs and sleep? Come, I'll tell you a bedtime story." He followed her to a room upstairs where she prepared him a bed. He lay in it as she covered him and kissed him on his forehead, and he closed his eyes, smiling.
The chirping of birds filled the forest, but the sound of feet running pushed the birds away, ending a melody that had played since dawn. In another part of the forest, the sound of running water echoed. Near it, a herd of deer drank as a doe let out a soft bleat to call her fawn back to her side—yet they were interrupted and fled due to the same noise.
"Huff huff huff. Where is he? Where did he go?" said Ren, running through the forest, looking left and right. Then he stopped to adjust his new gauntlet, longer than the previous one, stretching up to the elbow where the leather strap was. The gauntlet was fully steel-made, with fingers ending in tall steel nails like claws. He tightened the strap and started walking, checking his surroundings. He heard a twig snap. His eyes shifted to the side, realizing the sound came from behind. He kept walking forward, then suddenly turned back as the sound of brushes being pushed came—nothing. Peter dropped from the tree behind with the dagger in his hand, attacking. Ren, still facing the brush, looked oblivious and fell for the trap, yet he was smiling. He turned exactly at the right moment, quickly catching the blade and catching Peter off guard. Peter let go of the dagger as he stepped backward in a blink of an eye. As the dagger tip started to disappear, Ren snapped the blade. Peter drew just the handle from the air. Ren, smiling, said, "I finally got you," as he in a single step shrank the distance. Peter fumbled, shocked by the bladeless dagger, threw the handle at Ren. Ren deflected it and threw his punch. Peter realized Ren's speed was matching his and he couldn't gain distance. "It's my victory," Ren said as he was about to land the punch. Peter snapped his finger. Ren's eyes widened, wondering. He saw a shadow on top, recognizing what it was. He instinctively dodged to the side as a steel anvil dropped, hitting the ground. Peter sighed. "Man, I almost had you." Ren stood there silent, looking at his gauntlets, asking himself, "What's going on?"
Ren's silence filled the forest as he walked back to camp alongside Peter. He kept staring at his hand through the gauntlet, while Peter's disappointment showed plainly on his face. They crossed an open green area with no trees, littered with broken daggers, small craters, and shattered trunks—the marks of their battle. Peter gazed upon his lost weapons and sighed.
They reached the camp where Shin and Bjorn were talking. Bjorn cut vegetables into a pot, preparing a meal. At a distance from the wagon, Lili sat cross-legged, covered by flames in the grass. Near her lay a lot of charred grass, yet the patch beneath her remained unaffected. As Peter approached, Shin looked at Ren, still silent and staring at his hand. "How did it go? Any progress?"
Peter glanced at Ren and answered, "He won this round."
Bjorn stopped cutting and looked at them. Shin said, "I expected you to be thrilled about this, Ren. What's wrong?"
Bjorn, noticing Ren looking at the gauntlet, asked, "Is it the gauntlet? Is it too loose?"
Ren, still deep in thought, opened and closed his hand repeatedly. Suddenly, he dropped to the ground, holding his head and screaming in pain. Shin rushed to him. "Ren, what's wrong? Did you hit your head?"
Bjorn stood up. Peter took a step back. Lili's flames exploded, burning the grass around her. "Damn it, guys!" She saw Ren on the ground and rushed to him. "What happened?" She turned to Peter. "What did you do?"
Peter, shocked and sweating, said, "Nothing! I didn't even get to hit him, I swear!"
Ren went unconscious, and the screaming stopped.
The sky spun and sound blurred as Ren opened his eyes. He grabbed his head with the worst headache he'd ever had, looked at Lili strangling Peter and yelling at him. Ren got up, lifting his hand, just to hit the ground again and go back unconscious.
"Hey, Ren, wake up, buddy," said Peter, standing on top of Ren. Ren woke up, and it was already night as darkness covered the sky. He sat while holding his head. "What happened?"
"Nothing, buddy," Peter said.
Lili said, "You dropped a steel anvil on his head, and you call it nothing?"
Peter replied, "I already told you it didn't hit him."
Lili yelled, "Then how do you explain—"
Ren interrupted, "It's alright, just stop yelling."
Shin interrupted them. "You did well for today's training. Your growth speed is fascinating. Try eating first, then rest—you need it." As he pulled Lili and Peter away from him, Bjorn approached, holding a bowl of stew with vegetable chunks, and handed it to him. "How was the gauntlet?"
Ren grabbed it. "I had this weird dream, Bjorn. I'm still trying to figure if I'm awake or asleep." He put the bowl close to his mouth, then pulled it away and started checking it. "Where's the meat?"
Bjorn said, "Oh yeah, after you collapsed, I forgot to cut it, and the vegetables were already cooking."
Ren's eyes widened, and he dropped the bowl. "Bjorn, what's going on?" He grabbed his head but started panting. "Where are the bandages?" He grabbed Bjorn's shoulder and asked, screaming, "Is this real or just some dream?"
Bjorn calmed him and assured him it was reality—maybe Ren had some nightmare due to his injury—and asked him to get some sleep. Ren relaxed and wondered if it was just bad dreams, then lay down, closing his eyes.
As morning began, so did the party. As they exited the forest, they saw a village from afar. Peter asked Shin, "Are you sure we are on track?"
Shin replied, "Yes, it's an abandoned village, wiped almost 20 years ago when chimeras reached this far."
They moved toward the village, and the closer they got, the more Ren looked shocked. Lili said, "Hey, guys, doesn't the buildings look odd? They don't look abandoned."
Shin checked his map for a minute. "Nope, it's supposed to be abandoned. The guardian surely didn't make such a mistake." Ren silently closed his eyes, whispering, "No, no, no—it's just a dream."
They reached the village, and people were walking around, busy with their affairs. An old man approached them, welcoming them and offering them bread. Then a woman approached them. "Ren?"
Shin halted along with Peter as they stared at Ren, thinking he might know her. Ren opened his eyes. "Mom?" A woman with long black hair with white strands stood near him. He got off and slowly walked toward her, frozen.